Main menu

Monthly Archives: January 2013

On the recent episode of Liberal Dan Radio, I discussed Virginia Republican attempts to redistrict the state while taking advantage of the absence of a civil rights leader who was attending the inauguration.

On the show I said I would create a petition at whitehouse.gov to have the Justice Department take a look at the problem. Here is my petition on gerrymandering. Please sign it and froward it on.

If you don’t know what is going on with gerrymandering, please listen to the show. I will be discussing this issue for weeks and months to come.

State Rep Pat Connick opposed the Crescent City Connection tolls when they came up for a vote last year. However, he is now proposing a new set of tolls to be placed on drivers who enter onto the Lakebound Expressway from three exit ramps in the Central Business District.

Connick believes that the tolls will stop a traffic issue that takes place in the afternoons as the drivers from the west bank are trying to cross over the bridge through the toll plaza. I guess he believes that by slowing down people as they enter the expressway that the traffic would be less backed up on the expressway? Perhaps he believes that some people would take alternate routes to skip the tolls and as such the total traffic on the expressway would be lower?

Rep. Connick must not drive in that area much. I would urge him to just look at the absolute mess that is the intersection of Baronne and Calliope to see how already backed up that area is. Adding more of a backup getting up those ramps on that side of the river is absurd.

Connick believes that the tolls will help evenly spread the responsibility of the upkeep to east bank drivers as well. I reject this argument. The tolls on the bridge cover drivers on the bridge regardless of what side of the river they come from. If you go from the east bank to the west bank, on the way back you will pay the toll.

So it seems silly that someone who most recently opposed tolls is now for them and wants to tax people who likely don’t use the bridge to make it “fair”. It also seems silly that a couple of toll ramps will make the traffic jam in the afternoons on the bridge. I would be more likely to believe that the traffic has more to do with the sun in the eyes of the drivers crossing in the afternoon than some lack of tolls.

Needless to say, I will need to see more information about the plan before fully coming out against it. But at this point, it just seems silly.

On the latest episode of Liberal Dan Radio, towards he end of the show I spoke about some random issues. One of them was the latest conspiracy theory by the extreme right that Hillary Clinton faked her blood clot in order to avoid Senate hearings.

The name of this group, like birthers, shall be clotters.

Also on the show I discuss the fiscal cliff negotiations, the death of the GOP (and why it wont just die swiftly) and how a sperm donor case in Kansas is an argument on why we need marriage equality.

So listen to Liberal Dan Radio: Talk from the left, that’s right.

(The podcast may not be available immediately, give it some time after 9pm central for it to save)